The girls basketball team easily beat Sumner 54-34 to avenge an earlier loss. We came out strong with full court pressure and got up early, leading 18-8 after one quarter. We kept at it and led 34-17 at the half. After the third quarter, Coach Darren Eaton played mostly the subs, so everyone saw plenty of floor time. Janelle Ciomei led us with 22, Chelsea Brown 20, Julie Hutchins and Haley Brewer each with 4.

The girls beat Jonesport in a close game 60-54. We played well enough to win and shot the ball well. Coach Eaton felt we didn’t play sharp on defense in the first half, committing too many fouls, as we were tied 28-28 at the half. We stepped it up with our defense in the second half and made clutch shots in the fourth to close out the win.

Julie Hutchins sunk two key foul shots with 40 seconds left to give us a lead of 3 points and both Janelle Ciomei and Haley Brewer had key baskets down the stretch. This was a game we needed and we did what we had to do. Chelsea Brown led us with 27, Janelle Ciomei 15, and Haley Brewer 13 with 3 3-pointers.

The boys basketball team avenged an earlier loss by beating Penobscot Valley 49-32. We had a very slow start as PVHS confused us at first with different defenses and we trailed 12-5 after one quarter. We turned up the heat and came back hard to lead 17-14 at the half. After that we controlled the game and stretched the lead until the end. We did this with balanced scoring. We were led by Tim Cormier 10, Sam Grindle and Hayden Ciomei each with 9, Lucas Oliver 8, and Connor Morey 6.

The boys lost a well-played game to number one Jonesport in Jonesport 81-64. We got in a quick 13-2 hole, but ended the first quarter down 19-13. We trailed by 12 at the half, but fought our way back to trail only 54-49 after three quarters. We were within 4 points several times in the fourth, but when Sam Grindle fouled out with just under three minutes left, we were forced to foul to get back the ball and Jonesport hit their shots.

Garet Beal put on a clinic and we just didn’t have enough to overcome it. Despite the outcome, we gained confidence to know we could play with them, and given a couple breaks, maybe even come out on top. Sam Grindle led us with 22 points, Tim Cormier 16, Connor Morey 9, and Nathan Davis 7.

The girls have an 11-6 record and are in a solid eighth place. We have to win our only game left against George Stevens and hope for some help to sneak into seventh. We have been playing better basketball and have won seven of our last eight games. We need to carry this momentum into the post season and play together. We can’t take anything for granted, but stay confident in our play.

The boys are 9-7 and still in seventh place. If we can take care of business and beat George Stevens and Searsport, we should stay where we are and possibly move into sixth. We are playing well as a team and close losses to Sumner and Jonesport give us confidence that we can play with any team.

Unfortunately for the basketball me, I leave for our work/volunteer trip to Belize on Monday. So I will not be here to see how the final days of the Heal Points play out or the preliminary outcomes. Heal Points change daily and sometimes other teams can be helpful at the end of the season. Each team should be hosting a preliminary game, so pay attention and support the teams. I will be back in time for the tournament in Bangor, so I am hoping that we will make it there once again.